Suicide Attacker Used 264 Pounds of Explosives to Target Police Station in Pakistan, Killing 23

Security officials examine damages on the site of a bombing at a police station on the outskirts of Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. (AP Photo)
Security officials examine damages on the site of a bombing at a police station on the outskirts of Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. (AP Photo)
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Suicide Attacker Used 264 Pounds of Explosives to Target Police Station in Pakistan, Killing 23

Security officials examine damages on the site of a bombing at a police station on the outskirts of Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. (AP Photo)
Security officials examine damages on the site of a bombing at a police station on the outskirts of Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. (AP Photo)

The suicide bomber who rammed his car into a police station's main gate in Pakistan's northwest used 120 kilograms (about 264 pounds) of explosives, authorities said Wednesday. The attack — one of the deadliest in months — killed 23 officers and wounded 32 others the day before.
Inayat Ullah, head of the bomb disposal unit, told The Associated Press the explosives were fitted in the suicide attacker’s vehicle.
The assault — which also included five other militants opening fire before officers gunned them down — targeted Daraban police station in the city of Dera Ismail Khan, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan and is a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP.
The militant Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan group — believed to be an offshoot of the TTP — claimed responsibility for the attack.
A large number of security forces from across Pakistan were recently deployed at the station for intelligence operations against militants in the area in coordination with the local police, authorities said.
In a statement, the military said Wednesday it held an overnight funeral for those killed, attended by senior army officials.
The attack came when the country's powerful army chief, Gen. Asim Munir was on an official visit to the United States. He assumed his position in Nov.2022, days after the TTP ended its cease-fire with Pakistan's government. Since then, the militant group has stepped up its attacks targeting security forces. The deadliest was in January when 101 people were killed, mostly police officers, after a suicide bomber disguised as a policeman attacked a mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
Authorities said they have increased their intelligence-based operations, killing more than 500 militants since 2022.
Tuesday’s attack has further strained relations between Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan’s Taliban-led administration. Pakistan has previously accused the Taliban of hosting leaders of the TTP across the shared border from where they launched their attacks.
In a statement, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said it summoned a Taliban-appointed representative from Kabul to protest the latest assault. It demanded Afghanistan “fully investigate and take stern action against perpetrators” of the attack and also “publicly condemn the terrorist incident at the highest level.”
In Kabul, the Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the attack on Wednesday, promising an investigation. But he said things happening in Pakistan shouldn't be always linked to his country, adding that Islamabad should pay closer attention to security matters because the attack happened hundreds of kilometers from the border.
Mujahid added they do not allow anyone to use their territory to carry out attacks against Pakistan or any other country.
The attack drew condemnation from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken who tweeted: “We stand with the people of Pakistan in ensuring perpetrators are brought to justice and offer our deep condolences to the families of the victims.”
Nasser Kanaani, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, also denounced the attacks and extended “sympathies to the families of the victims,” on X, formerly known as Twitter.



Rubio: 83% of USAID Contracts Will be Canceled

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with the media on his military airplane as he flies to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia March 10, 2025. SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with the media on his military airplane as he flies to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia March 10, 2025. SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS
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Rubio: 83% of USAID Contracts Will be Canceled

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with the media on his military airplane as he flies to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia March 10, 2025. SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with the media on his military airplane as he flies to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia March 10, 2025. SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the US was cancelling 83% of programs funded by USAID, as the Trump administration guts spending not aligned with its “America First” agenda.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) distributes humanitarian aid around the world, with health and emergency programs in around 120 countries, and critics warn that slashing its work will affect millions of people.

“After a 6 week review we are officially cancelling 83% of the programs at USAID,” Rubio said on social media platform X.

“The 5,200 contracts that are now cancelled spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States.”

US President Donald Trump returned to office on January 20 and immediately ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid pending a review of whether the programs align with his “America First” foreign policy.

The order, and ensuing stop work orders, threw USAID into turmoil, halting the agency's operations around the world, jeopardizing the delivery of life-saving food and medical aid and throwing global humanitarian relief efforts into chaos.

The administration said it provided waivers for life-saving aid, but humanitarian workers around the world said the funding remained shut.

Thousands of staff were put on leave or fired and contractors terminated. The majority of those put on leave are not expected to be reinstated.

On Monday, the top US diplomat also thanked the staffers of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency led by billionaire Elon Musk, who has been conducting an unprecedented scaling down of the US federal government.

“Thank you to DOGE and our hardworking staff who worked very long hours to achieve this overdue and historic reform,” Rubio said.

A few hours later, Musk responded: “Tough, but necessary. Good working with you. The important parts of USAID should always have been with Dept of State.”

His comments came after the New York Times reported that he and Musk clashed during a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, with Musk accusing the top US diplomat of not carrying out deep enough staff cuts at the State Department.

At the meeting, Trump told his Cabinet heads that they, not Musk, have the final say on staffing and policy at their agencies, Reuters reported. Trump denied the NYT report on Friday when asked about it by reporters.

Trump, Musk and Rubio had dinner on Saturday evening at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Sunday.